jordanabina
***This is a rough draft of the second chapter from my Sci-Fi novel Treska Vorn. Ignore Grammatical Errors. Copyright @jordanabina 2021
Deep below the streets of the Centrum lurks the ever-growing shadows of the lowest level of Rivix, the Sink. Down there, lights from the Centrum lose their strength and give way to the darkness of the deep. In the Sink, everything is artificial, the light, the weather, and even the air people breathe. The Sink is where the poor and the impoverished can’t help but end up, as they swirl down the imbalanced ecosystem of Rivix. The rules are different there, if there are even rules to begin with. The sounds of drains and flowing pipes are constant and the only silence you find there is the one you imagine for yourself. Crime is commonplace and corruption is the language, for many criminals it’s the perfect place to hide. Leaf officers don’t go down to the Sink to clean it up, they go to make it worse. It doesn’t take much cube to get what you’re looking for, and Leaf officers aren’t always interested in paying. It’s no place to live and a worse place to die.
Over the last few cycles, the Sink has become a hotbed for the insignia of the prophet, a mysterious symbol supposed to represent a person that the Leaf council desperately wants to find. This prophet is rumored to be a descendant of some of the last organics from Earth, a mystical people believing in a metaphysical reality and a group that renounced bioengineering and digital augmentations. Their scientists believed that the star Astraea had unlocked a portion of the human brain that was not accessible to them on Earth. They believed they were gifted with advanced insight and even foresight, but in order to preserve these new found abilities they could not allow any digital upgrades to their bodies as they completely rendered their new discovery useless. This belief also prohibited any of the organics from using a sleep pod, something the Leaf Council could not allow.
A couple years ago, people living in the Sink began spreading stories about a prophet, a phantom in the dark. Most people living in the Sink can’t afford bio-upgrades and therefore have a low life expectancy and are forced to use the black market as a means to purchase any digital enhancements. The prophet, whether real or a fabrication of the desperate, represents someone who is fighting against this reality. There have only been a few people to claim they have actually seen the prophet, and those that did are rumored to have disappeared. As you would rightfully suspect, people stopped talking about it, but the belief spread even faster. Like a narcotic, the idea of someone out there who stood against the corruption found in the Sink intoxicated people. Then the symbol appeared, three intersecting circles, the sign of the prophet. It wasn’t until recently that any camera had ever caught a glimpse of the prophet, which was the reason the vast majority living in the Centrum did not believe in the prophet’s existence. But eventually, in a security recording from an open courtyard in the Sink, the first sight of what many believed to be the prophet was captured.
Due to the hour in which this event took place, the quality of the video was very poor, but there was enough footage to see the power behind the rumors and enough to send ripples all the way to the Leaf Council. The recording shows Leaf officers pushing and tugging at a woman in an attempt to exploit her. She resists the officers for a few moments but takes a blow to the back, sending her to the ground. This type of activity is common in the Sink, but never reported.
In an instant, a figure in a light hooded robe appears. The figure is suspected to have been equipped with movement gear based upon the type agility shown in the footage, but none can be seen in the footage. The speed at which the figure moved was not possible for a human, but any movement gear that may have been of assistance was covered in the layers of clothing under the cloak. Each Leaf officer fell within twenty seconds of the appearance of the hooded figure. There were no blasts from a weapon, but blood sprayed the surrounding walls and flooded the ground. The blood was almost black in the pale light. As the Leaf officers laid still, the footage showed one officer slightly moving and discreetly trying to crawl away. This caught the gaze of the hooded figure and they walked slowly towards the slithering officer. As the distance between them waned, the Leaf officer flipped over onto his back holding out his weapon and shot, grazing the face of the assassin and blowing off the hood of the robed figure. The Leaf officer immediately opened his face shield, revealing eyes filled with dread. The figure stood motionless, hood ripped and burning away at the shoulder. The footage revealed the long white hair of a woman and the profile of a fair skinned face, dripping with blood. The angle of the camera prevented any real facial recognition and it was impossible to identify the woman. After only a few seconds, she pulled out a strange blade. It looked as if something in the physical composition of the blade scattered the video signal and blurred the lens of the camera. The woman twisted, spun the blade with her wrist, and thrust it into the Leaf officer, just out of sight of the camera. The footage showed a strong glow and vapor coming from underneath her eyes. Without looking at the security camera, her hand motions towards its general direction, and the feed stops.
That was two months before Weyland woke from his painful dream, and there hasn’t been one reported sighting of her since. This video was seen by only a select few who stole it off security feeds before it was tracked and found by the Leaf Council and deleted. The Leaf councils’ official statement was that the video was doctored by a criminal trying to frame Leaf officers who were there to rescue the woman and that the actor was obviously on slik. Weyland never saw this video and everyone attached to the video was arrested, everyone except Katsu Motishu.
—
The evening cycle had set on Rivix. Weyland and Katsu hadn’t spoken in over an hour. Weyland still sat with his back against the counter, legs extended, his helmet and movement gear next to him on the floor. At some point, Katsu had heard enough from Weyland and asked Ora to join him in his lab to examine the item given by Mr. Eizō. Weyland was left to his thoughts.
There have been days where I was convinced that my life was nothing more than another passenger on the electram, going nowhere. My work at VornCorp, my apartment, my cube, and everything else, always feels like it adds up to nothing. And now this, this is something all right. Is it purpose? Is it meaning? Is it death? Am I losing it? Blitz, I need to eat.
Weyland reached for his soup, now cold, from the above counter behind him. His attempt at explaining to Katsu the events of the last 24 hours fell short at the immediate gratification of examining the item from Mr. Eizō. Weyland was relieved for the pardon. Kat’s apartment was a mixture of gear, clothes, cube, and junk, but everything had its specific place. Basically the opposite of Weyland’s flat. There was no real obsession with cube and he had plenty, one of the many perks of being a digital genius. Half modified AI covered the counters in his work area and augmented movement gear hung in the nearby closet. The cube he made from altered movement gear is enough to support an entire family for a year, but Kat is more inclined to lose his cube than spend it. Kat spent 90% of his time in the lab, the place which held his highly modified digital interface and storage system. His lab also housed a particle scanner, made by VornCorp, that could carbon date any physical item and scan for all real and synthetic lifeforms that had been in contact with it. Katsu had also spent time modifying it to do much more, not even Ora was sure of its full capabilities. As Weyland made his way to Kat in the lab, the lights from the particle scanner were shifting, underneath its gaze lay Eizō’s gift.
Weyland leaned on the tattered door frame at the entrance of the lab. “How’s it going?” asked Weyland.
Katsu was still only wearing his VornCorp shorts and the movement gear on his legs, except now he had a helmet on that attached to his computer. He didn’t respond. His rib bones pressed through the skin of his abdomen like a man who considers eating something that gets in his way, a hacker through and through. The tattoos on his back were a vivid assortment of colors and the lights from the lab brought them all to life. His tattoo artist, known as Shren, is famous for using ink filled with hue changing technology. Depending on brightness, temperature, and even mood, the color of the work will change. The price of this type of art is the most expensive cube can buy, but for those who have it, it’s a way of making a statement. Katsu continued working, oblivious to Weyland’s question.
“Katsu!” said Weyland.
Katsu jumped as he pushed up his helmet pausing the scan. “Blitz! What’s wrong with you today Weyly? That’s the second time you’ve done that.”.
Weyland smiled. “How’s it going?”
“What on Ghrosk did Eizō give you man? I’ve never seen anything like this. Everything about the tile seems foreign but,” Kat paused, “but I can’t say that it isn’t something I haven’t seen before, but not on Vorn.
Katsu grabbed the item and threw it to Weyland who, caught by surprise, barely grabbed it out of the air and shot Katsu a disappointed look.
“What do you mean? How could it be foreign but nothing you haven’t seen already?” Asked Weyland, “that doesn’t make sense.”
“Exactly,” replied Katsu waving his finger and Weyland, “Exactly my point. It’s clear from the scan that there’s information stored somewhere on this tile…”
“Tile?” asked Weyland.
“Yeah, that’s what we’re calling it. Ora and I” replied Katsu, “right Ora?”
“Correct,” answered Ora.
Weyland rolled his eyes. Katsu continued.
“Like I was saying. The file storage is typical of most on Vorn and although I can see information embedded in the tile, I cannot determine how to access it. It’s not even that it’s locked, there’s no door. Plus, and this is the crazy part, some of this looks organic.”
“Organic as in what? What’s it made of?” asked Weyland.
“Well, this is where it gets crazy. It’s made up of three different structural proteins, Keratin, Collagen, and Elastin, as well as a small amount of Vitamin D and Vitamin E,” said Katsu, “everything else is a biodegradable substance that holds it all in place. I’ve never seen anything like that on Vorn.
“These proteins work together to surround and protect the center portion of the tile. They work together, guarding the information, or whatever it is in that thing,” added Ora from somewhere in the computer console of the lab.
Katsu stared at Weyland as if waiting for a response. None came. This impasse had happened many times before between these two men in many other conversations. Katsu, being a human storage unit, would vomit an overload of information to Weyland assuming full comprehension.
Katsu leaned back into his chair causing the helmet to drop back down over his face. “Did you hear what I said?” asked Katsu, “we’re talking full structural proteins.” A moment of silence passed between them.
Weyland looked down at the floor for a moment, then raised his eyes again. “Kat, how do we access it?”
Katsu stood up, still wearing the helmet attached to his system and paced the small room filled with equipment. “I have a theory,” replied Katsu, “but if I’m wrong and it doesn’t work, the tile might be gone forever. I think the key is organic. It has to be. Why else would this be crafted this way?”
“Are you even talking to me?” asked Weyland.
“Yes, there’s no other reason, but what if…no that’s not possible, it has to be this.” said Katsu talking to himself.
“Katsu, explain what this means practically,” said Ora, realizing that Weyland was losing his patience.
“Don’t you see it, Ora?” asked Katsu.
“I’ve detected a combination of purely organic structural proteins normally found in the human body as well as two to three separate vitamins that are not yet being absorbed by the surrounding structural proteins. Beyond this I am unable to gather any additional information,” replied Ora.
Katsu turned to his monitor with a look of excitement. “Exactly! You can’t. And you know why? It’s because there is no password, no firewall, no digital highway for you to travel down! This tile and its information can only be opened one way and one way only, I know it.”
“And that is?” asked Weyland.
“Organically,” replied Katsu, “I think you gotta eat it.”
“What?” asked Weyland, “you have to what?”
Katsu ripped off his helmet and ran past Weyland into the next room, nearly knocking him to the floor. He ran into the kitchen opening every door looking for something.
“Kat!” yelled Weyland.
“It’s time to share your story Weyly,” said Katsu as he searched every compartment, “and blitz, you better not leave anything out.”
“Wait what? What are you talking about, slow down and be real for a second,” said Weyland, “you aren’t really thinking about eating this tile thing are you?”
Katsu stopped abruptly to look up at Weyland “No way! You’re the one who has to eat it you idiot, Eizō gave it to you!” Katsu was rummaging through another compartment underneath a sitting booth in the flat when he pulled something out and raised it above his head. “Aha!”
It was a medical tool for testing blood levels known as a bio-sampler, Leaf officers used it on the streets testing for Slik in the bloodstream. It is relatively small and can fit into the palm of your hand. The model Katsu had was a few years old and the models used by the Leaf officers today were of better quality and accuracy.
Kat ran past Weyland back into the lab without addressing him. “If I can change a few settings on this old sampler, I may be able to get some organic information from this tile. We’ve been looking for a way to open it digitally, but I think the information stored here can only be opened by someone who is organically designed to open it.” Katsu quickly put his scanner helmet back on.
“Kat, slow down a second…” said Weyland.
“Give me back the tile Weyly,” said Katsu.
Weyland moved a few paces towards Katsu and held out the tile, there was no use getting in Kat’s way now. Katsu turned and grabbed Weyland by the wrist and thrust the sampler into his forearm, taking a small skin and blood sample from his skin.
Weyland gritted his teeth as he pulled his arm back. “Ouch! What are you—”
“Just give me a minute and I’ll explain. Ora, make sure to store all of this to the offline drives,” said Katsu, “Weyland, give me the tile.”
Weyland waited a moment, then dropped the tile into Katsu’s hand, murmuring something underneath his breath. The particle scanner made a sound that reminded Weyland of the lift to his apartment and the lights flickered as the scanner finished its power up sequence. His mind returned to the reason he came here in the first place. The fog, the dreams, and the face in the mirror.
He’s so obsessed with this stupid info tile. I may never get a chance to tell him about the malfunction in my sleep pod.
Katsu placed the tile directly in the center of the scanner and plugged a few cables into the sampler now holding a small sample of Weyland’s stolen skin.
“Ready Ora?” asked Katsu.
“I’m ready.” Replied Ora.
“Trust me Weyly, this is going to make sense when I’m done,” said Katsu, “well I mean I hope it makes sen—”
“I’ll just be out here,” said Weyland, walking away in frustration.
Katsu looked as if he might follow Weyland, but hearing a beep on the monitor, his attention returned to his work. For the next four hours, Weyland was jacking into the sampler and using his scanner to make some modifications. Weyland busied himself as best as he could, adjusting and tinkering with equipment. It was long past their scheduled sleep cycle and Weyland was going to have to stay the night in the spare sleep pod. Weyland walked around the loft, cleaning up here and there as he waited. As he looked out the window, he could see the Leaf officials setting up a station for tomorrow’s tally. They would work through the dark hours to complete each station around Rivix. Every single citizen would be processed tomorrow. It was a massive governmental procedure and there was a restlessness surrounding it all. For as long as Seyland could remember, there had never been this much unrest in Rivix before. His thoughts drifted back to the encounter at Tsouki Soup.
The tally! That’s the whole reason I came here in the first place, if I don’t get some answers about the glow, tomorrow is a death wish. Weyland drifted outside to the tiny patio. The air was cold but soothing. If my levels of Sylic are elevated, even a small amount, they’ll take me in, search my apartment, and I’ll lose everything. What if they find Ora? If they find Ora, they find Katsu. What was I thinking! That’s it, I need to end this. And my eyes—.
Weyland burst back inside and marched his way to the lab. Katsu was waiting for him, helmet off, with the tile still on the scanner. Their eyes met as Weyland flew around the corner. Before Weyland could get any words out of his mouth, Katsu spoke.
“Weyland, you have to tell me what happened,” said Katsu.
Weyland? That’s a first.
“Well what about the tile thing? What’s it made of again?” asked Weyland, “Did you get the sampler to work? Wha—”.
Katsu stood abruptly with his hands out towards Weyland. “Stop Weyly. I’m sorry this took so long but I had to be sure. The first thing I need you to do is tell me what has happened in the last few cycles and then I’ll tell you about this tile. Better yet, Ora, show me.”
Ora synched back with the interfaces in the Katsu’s living space, a small blip on the viewing screens confirmed it. Weyland followed Katsu out towards the viewing screens in the loft which was slightly cleaner than upon arrival. Katsu took no notice.
“Weyland?” asked Ora.
“Show him,” replied Weyland.
Ora dimmed the lights and pulled up the video feed from inside Weyland’s apartment. This footage is recorded and deleted every seven days, but Ora can hide these files when requested directly from Weyland as well as stream the live feed to wherever a connection is available. In the Sky level and in some parts of the Centrum, the in-house video feed is optional. Rivix citizens use the video feed for different means of communication and streaming, but some feel it’s too much of an invasion of privacy and don’t trust its security features. In the Sink however, it’s not an option. Every Leaf sanctioned living residence comes with a camera installed. If damaged or disconnected, you will get a knock on your door from Leaf security and most likely get evicted.
Weyland sat on the sofa letting out a sigh. “Start it at the beginning of last night’s sleep cycle Ora.”
“Am I about to watch you sleep Weyly?” asked Katsu, “How exciting.”
“Just watch,” replied Weyland.
“Starting footage beginning at last night’s sleep cycle,” said Ora.
The image expands into a 3D rendering of Weyland’s flat, Katsu and Weyland are now viewing the feed as if they were there. The footage begins with Weyland sitting on the edge of his sleep pad, removing the movement gear on his legs.
“Ahead ten minutes, restart and three times normal speed”, said Weyland, “let’s get to the end of the cycle.”
Katsu was standing only a few feet from the digital rendering while Weyland watched from his seat, his expression carrying a childlike curiosity. The recording, now playing much faster than real time, showed Weyland underneath the influence of the sleep fog, tossing and turning sporadically while unconscious in his pad.
“I knew it—”, laughed Katsu.
“Shut up man, watch.”
At the moment the fog exuded from the new upgraded sleep pad, Ora resumed normal speed on the playback as Weyland awoke. Weyland had not seen this footage himself until now. In fact, he began to realize that he hadn’t really thought this through at all. Yes, Katsu was his closest friend but even Katsu isn’t going to understand what he’s about to see.
Oh God, what have I done? I can remember this moment like it was just a minute ago, a feeling like I’ve never felt before. Not just a dream, it was real, I know it.
The moment on the recording finally came. Weyland explodes from sleep in pain. His body thrust into spasms and his mouth is wide open in pain. His spine is arching, his legs shaking, and eyes rolling back.
Katsu takes a step forward then looks at Weyland. “Weyly, what am I seeing here?”
Katsu watches Weyland slip to the floor as he tries to regain control of his body. Katus notices what look like small rays of electricity surrounding Weyland’s body and congregating around his augmentations.
“Weyly—”
“I know”
What felt like an hour to Weyland only lasted about thirty seconds and as he watched the footage he was surprised that his mind had made it seem so much longer. Seeing the footage sent chills through his veins. Katsu stood and looked at Weyland with a look of shock on his face. He realized that Weyland didn’t come over with the intention of discussing the tile, but something worse had happened.
“Weyland, what’s going on? Did you augment something on your sleep pod? Leaf can track that! They’re going to see how much fog has left this system eventually! What am I missing here? Did you really come all this way to tell me you’re addicted to Slik?” asked Katsu.
“No Kat! I didn’t tamper with anything,” replied Weyland, “something had to have malfunctioned.
“Not according to my analysis,” responded Ora.
“No Weyly, there’s only one reason anyone would ever do such a stupid thing like this! It’s to get the feeling of Slik in your system!
“Kat. Look at me.”
Katsu remembered who his best friend was and calmed down. But it was clear Katsu was searching for answers.
“Okay Weyly. Are you okay now?”
“Yes, but watching this again honestly brought back the pain a little.”
“And you’re saying nothing was out of the ordinary as you went into the pod the evening before?”
“Right.”
“And there isn’t something you’re not telling me—”
“Katsu.”
“Right.”
As they spoke, the video continued, but Ora didn’t increase the speed as much as before. She knew what was coming, because she had seen it happen.
Weyland was now standing and stalking Katsu as he paced. “So, let’s hear it. What could’ve happened? Do you think it was any of my upgrades?”
“There’s no way, I engineered those myself, and you’ve never had any problems before, right?”
“Right.”
Ora paused the video. “I think it’s time you both sat down and watch the recording, neither of you have seen this and I believe it may bring some tangible evidence to this situation.”
Both men drifted back to the main viewing screen in the apartment, neither sat. The recording now showed Weyland paused, hunched over on the ground as the pain slowly subsided.
“As you can see, the time stamp of this footage shows this is taking place in the middle of the sleep cycle and there are still five hours left in the recording,” said Ora.
“Five more hours? Of what? Is there more Weyly?” asked Katsu.
“I’m not really sure.”
Ora unpaused the video. Weyland was getting to his feet and looked scared but conscious. Then, as if something pulled Weyland’s head back from behind him, his eyes slammed shut and his head shot backwards. Ora zoomed in on Weyland. Weyland stood in front of his projected self with questions racing through his mind.
What is happening to me?
“Look! Weyly what the—” cried Katsu putting his hand over his mouth.
Just as Ora had said, Weyland’s feet began to leave the ground. His body hovered in place, just off the ground totally motionless, as if he were asleep.
“Weyland remains like this for the next four hours and fifty seven minutes,” said Ora.
“When do I wake up?”
“First, I will fast forward to something else that occurred immediately before you regained consciousness.”
Ora zoomed in on Weyland’s face which began to exude a beam of light across his face.
Katsu breathed deeply. “No.”
Like a vapor or the look of heat waves, the glow that permeated from the face of Weyland was unlike anything either of them had ever seen. It was not like the typical glow from Slik that resides in the skin, the golden color, the way it rose away from the skin, this was something new. Kat stood in disbelief, trying to determine what to think. Weyland watched as if he didn’t recognize the person he knew to be himself.
“What’s on your face Weyland?” asked Katsu.
“I don’t know Kat.”
After three more minutes, the footage showed Weyland’s feet hitting the floor, his body calming, and his eyes opening, now green. Ora cut the footage. Katsu stood in silence for a moment, gazing into the distance.
He thinks I’ve lost it, thought Weyland, and why shouldn’t he, I’ve never done anything like this before in my life. I haven’t done anything anyway!
“Kat, I swear—”
“I see now why you wanted to come here so urgently, but I’m not sure I know what this means any more than you do. I’m not sure what you thought I would say, and I’m definitely not sure about what you expect me to do now,” said Katsu.
Weyland began to feel the weight of his decision, as well as a feeling of embarrassment.
Katsu moved closer to Weyland, standing shoulder to shoulder as they looked at the screen. “But I also have no reason to not trust you.”
Weyland looked at Katsu with a sense of relief and remembered why he loved him in the first place. Katsu was truly a friend, unlike anyone Weyland had ever had in his life. There was complete trust and in Rivix, that wasn’t always easy to come by. “Kat, I need to tell you something else. I had a dream—”
“What? You had a dream? Ora is this true?”
“If there was a neural activity during his sleep cycle, I was unable to see anything on his vitals report,” replied Ora.
“Katsu, I dreamed, for the first time in my life. It was unlike anything i have ever experienced before. It was so real. It’s like I was there—”
“It was like you were where? What do you mean real?” replied Katsu.
“It’s hard to explain, but I was transported, or at least I thought I was, to another place.”
Weyland took the next few moments to try and unpack the dream to Katsu who listened in amazement. No one dreamed and Katsu and Weyland never thought it would be possible. They were not entirely sure that it was possible, but they tried to grasp all that seemed to be happening. Ora broke into the conversation.
“There is one problem that must be addressed. For reasons I cannot explain, this experience has shifted the chemical balance in your body,” said Ora, “and according to my scan the same chemical reactions that take place due to an overuse or exposure to Sylic have transpired.”
“Wait, what?” said Weyland, somewhat shocked.
“Yes, if you were to get a blood scan at this moment, you would show up as a slik user.”
This can’t be happening.
“Kat, we have to figure out what is happening to me.”
“Oh, I agree,” interrupted Katsu, “but first we need to cover your tracks, we have to do everything perfectly from this point on if we’re going to get you past the tally tomorrow.”
Oh God! The tally. How could i have already forgotten so quickly?
Weyland jumped to the window, looking out at what felt like an inevitable run in with the Leaf council and the loss of everything he had. A look of intrigue transformed Katsu’s face. Something had fired in his brain and now the engine was turning.
“The upgrade. Ora, search for any other reports of these results since the Leaf issued that Rivix sleep pod upgrade.
“On it,” replied Ora.
Katsu ran to Weyland’s side, and Weyland continued to stare at the Rivix skyline. “Has this ever happened before? I mean with your older model sleep pod?” asked Katsu.
Weyland looked at Katsu with bewilderment. “What do you think Kat? Blitz.”
Katsu’s mind had already latched onto a theory, something to make sense of the suddenness of change in Weyland. “It has to be something to do with the new pod and that means, it has something to do with Leaf.”
“No way,” replied Weyland, “Almost all of Rivix got the upgrade.”
“Exactly. But first, let’s make sure you will be ready for tomorrow. I have a couple Slik shifts that we can try and use to see if we can mask your blood levels. When was the last time you used a blood scan or anything like that?” asked Katsu.
“The last thing was the vita-shot. That would’ve been the last recorded information on my blood levels,” replied Weyland.
“Did you bring it with you? That needs to be destroyed.”
“I don’t know,” replied Weyland.
Weyland ran to his pack and dumped it out on the floor, it didn’t take long to realize that the vita-shot was still back at his apartment.
“You don’t have it do you?” asked Katsu. “Blitz! Ora, can you jump back to Weyland’s place and scan for the vita-shot? It should be near the pad where he last used it.”
It was now dark outside, and the light would be approaching in less than half a sleep cycle. They’re bodies were beginning to grow weak and their minds fuzzy. But on the Ghroskin moons, this doesn’t lead to sleep like it used to, it leads to sickness. If they didn’t get at least half a sleep cycle in soon, they would be noticed at tomorrow’s tally. People skipping sleep cycles will always have a slight imbalance in their bodies and there was no need to attract any unwanted attention.
“We must cycle in Weyly, let Ora go back to your place and you can take the guest pad,” said Katsu.
Weyland agreed. “Ora, when you arrive, send the security camera to the viewing screen here, we’ll watch until you get back,” said Weyland.
“Okay, I’ll be back in a second,” said Ora.
A blip on the screen confirmed her departure and in an instant every viewing screen in Kat’s apartment was streaming the feed from Weyland’s place.
“Weyland,” said Ora, “someone is here.”
Katsu’s eyes widened and he fell backward as he tripped over something on the floor. “Wey…what the—”
Weyland stood staring at the viewing screen, fear locked his legs in place. A crippling silence fell over the two friends and their breath deserted them. They were both paralyzed as they looked at the live feed from Weylands apartment. Just near Weyland’s sleep pad and holding the used vita-shot, stood a robed figure.
“Who the blitz is th—” asked Weyland.
Katsu rose to his feet, slowing pacing closer to the screen. “it’s her…the Prophet.”
This can’t be happening. How did the Leaf officers already find me? That’s not possible.
Weyland, now with his hand on the screen, looked in disbelief. He did not hear what Katsu said about the Prophet, neither of them noticed each other’s presence. To each, they were alone in the room. At first, Weyland thought the figure was some form of technology because it did not seem to be moving at all. It remained motionless staring at Weyland’s sleep pad.
If Leaf has already been notified of the events from last night then I’m as good as dead. What do they even want with me? Maybe they’re just looking at the broken equipment.
Ora did not make herself known by synching with the mobile unit and she was not getting any warnings of her presence being detected. After a moment, the figure removed her hood, revealing the back of her head and turned directly towards the camera. Most of her face was still covered by a face shield but the damage left from her encounter with the Leaf officer was visible on her shield and above her eyebrow. Her long white hair was tied up around the back and there was no movement gear visible.
“Do you recognize this woman Weyly?” whispered Katsu.
“No, i’ve never seen her in my life” replied Weyland, “Is it Leaf?”
The woman kept her face turned from the camera when she spoke. “Weyland.”
Weyland jumped back from the screen and fell backwards, shattering a glass table next to the sofa. “What the…”
Katsu remained motionless, his nerves and body locked in position. “How?”
“Weyland, I know you have seen something. I know you’ve run to a place you must find safe. But you are in grave danger. He has been waiting for this moment, for you. If they find you, they will kill you.”
“How does she know we are listening?” asked Katsu, “This is crazy.”
“I too have been looking for you,” said the woman, “Astraea is coming and it is going to change everything on Treska Vorn. I believe it’s already happening to you, like it did to me. It is of utmost importance that you find me. I’ve sent coordinates to the Oracle software that is sending this feed.”
“How?” asked Katsu, standing in wonder and fear.
“Get out Ora” whispered Weyland.
Ora did not reply.
“The data you’ve been given from Eizō is extremely important and needs to be guarded until you come to me,” said the woman, “do not lose it or damage it.”
“Eizō,” said Weyland.
Katsu smiled. “Eizō.”
“I will destroy this vita-shot and everything else in this apartment that links you to anything that happened here,” said the woman, “But do not return here, they will be coming.”
“It is the prophet,” said Katsu, “she’s real. Holy—”
“She has uploaded coordinates to a location and the lock has been released,” said Ora.
Weyland shot to his feet, bleeding from his left arm. “Get back here Ora! Block our location,” said Weyland.
“I have seen the place of ice Weyland,” said Namira, “I’ve seen the trees and the light. It’s a place you must go to but you’re going to need my help.”
As she spoke she turned slowly towards the security camera. Most of her face was still covered by a face shield but her eyes were in plain view. They were green, just like Weylands. A twinge of shock flew through Weyland as somehow the face seemed familiar. He was sure he had never seen this woman before, never once met a woman with white hair and wasn’t wearing any movement gear and yet, somehow her face resonated. Weyland was shocked to hear the word that came from his mouth as if he couldn’t control them.
“Namira?”
The feed went blank. Ora returned to the interface in Katsu’s home. Weyland dropped into a seat in the corner of Katsu’s living area, he felt all the fatigue in his body all at once. A blip in the room confirmed Ora’s return, but she did not say anything upon arrival, no one did. Each had to come to terms with what just happened in their own way. The moments of silence that passed felt like hours but were only moments. Weyland navigated through a minefield of disbelief.
Namira? Is that possible?
Before Weyland could speak, Katsu jumped to his feet.
Katsu looked at Weyland, then looked towards his lab. “I need to show you a video.”
